The Spanish press provides an endless source of unsubstantiated transfer stories. It is estimated that transfer speculation occupies over 100,000 column inches per year in England. In Spain, that figure is closer to 5 billion. Every week, one of Spain’s major sports papers Marca or AS will report that a huge transfer ‘will definitely take place’. It never does. The Spanish ethos is aptly illustrated by AS’ slogan, which is emblazoned on the outside of their headquarters in Madrid: ‘If you throw enough shit at the wall some of it will stick.’